If you haven't been to south central Oklahoma lately, you should make plans to visit soon.

The expansive area — which includes all or parts of Bryan, Carter, Coal, Garvin, Grady, Jefferson, Johnston, Love, Marshall, McClain, Murray, Pontotoc and Stephens counties — is chock full of new construction, renovated structures and attractions sure to satisfy most tourists.

A rendering of the Chickasaw Nation Welcome Center, under construction in Davis. - Provided

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Ken Raymond is the book editor. He joined The Oklahoman in 1999. He has won dozens of state, regional and national writing awards. Three times he has been named the state's "overall best" writer by the Society of Professional Journalists. In...